On the heels of Pierre Poilievre’s victory in the Conservative Party of Canada’s (CPC) leadership election, polling and party data indicates that huge waves of voters are purchasing political party memberships and supporting the Conservatives under his leadership. On campus, the Conservative Students’ Association (CPC McGill) is also reporting a[Read More…]
Tag: student politics
The myth of conservative persecution on university campuses
Campus groups representing the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), including McGill’s Conservative Association, were criticized by the Canadian Association of University Professors last week for distributing cards encouraging students to vote Conservative “because you can only hear the same left-wing talking points from your professors so many times.” Scheer defended[Read More…]
What record voter turnout means for the McGill community
Voting for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) 2018 Winter Election and Referendum closed on March 21 with a voter turnout of 32.8 per cent. Despite less than a third of all eligible SSMU members voting, this figure represents the highest voter turnout in the past 14 years. 7,100 of[Read More…]
Financial transparency is severely lacking at SSMU
Students are now in the homestretch of the Winter semester, but there is one obstacle: Election season. Over the next two weeks, McGill will be treated to another round of prospective Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executives for the 2018-2019 school year. Student politicians have often tried to earn[Read More…]
Why students don’t care about SSMU
It’s that time of year again: Your friends from rez and frosh are inviting you to Facebook events and announcing their candidacy for various Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) positions. But, despite their well-lit headshots and carefully-worded bios and platforms, voter turnout in recent SSMU elections suggests that most[Read More…]
An apolitical BoD is in everyone’s best interests
On Jan. 14, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors (BoD) ratified the Judicial Board (J-Board) ruling on the case of Glustein v. Koparkar. The J-Board received an appeal after the Oct. 23 Fall General Assembly (GA), when students passed a motion to vote on each BoD member’s[Read More…]
New frontiers need rules: University policy must address the internet
This summer, Dalhousie University student and Vice-President (VP) Academic and External of the Student Union, Masuma Khan expressed frustration with the Canada 150 celebration via Facebook, emphasizing solidarity with indigenous students and calling out white students for their continued support of the revelry. The post was reported by a fellow[Read More…]
SSMU President must step up, or step down
The current state of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) is disconcerting, to say the least: Executives and employees have resorted to publishing op-eds against each other, and five of the six remaining executives have formally expressed a position of non-confidence in President Muna Tojiboeva, due to a lack[Read More…]
It’s time to decide on AVEQ affiliation—whatever that means
If you Google the acronym “AVEQ,” the top result is a Quebec electric vehicle association—Association des Véhicules Électriques du Québec. The website probably saw an unexpected spike in traffic during McGill's 2016 Winter Referendum, when students voted on the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) becoming a member of the Association[Read More…]
The VP External should support student initiatives, not direct them
On Sept. 15, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited McGill to inaugurate a new Facebook Artificial Intelligence lab. However important the initiative, Trudeau’s welcome was lukewarm. A group of students, including Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer, protested the Prime Minister’s visit. The protesters accused Trudeau[Read More…]
